Yezidis
staged protests in the Kurdish town of Shangal, after four members of
the religious minority were killed by insurgents and hundreds fled their
homes in response to an ultimatum by Islamic extremists who warned
families to leave or be killed.

The protesters in Shangal, which lies in “disputed territories”
claimed by both the Iraqi government and the autonomous Kurdistan
Regional Government in the north, demanded protection from the KRG and
the international community.

Residents said that the militants had raided a home and killed
four people in front of the rest of the family. Last week, two other
Yezidis were gunned down in the Rabia area.

After the latest killings, the militants issued an ultimatum
calling on Yezidi families to leave the area within 24 hours or face
death.

"They told us that if you don't leave by tomorrow, you would be
killed," said Hamid Khalaf, the father of one of the four slain
Yezidis.

Sixty thousand Yezidis are believed to live in Iraq, where 80
percent are concentrated in the towns of Bashika and Shangal. Yezidis
have long faced discrimination in Iraq due to their different religious
beliefs and traditions.

Nearly 4,000 Yezidi families live as farmers around the Rabia region. A Rudaw correspondent reported that some 900 families had fled their homes after the latest death threats.

Yezidis have long claimed discrimination in Iraq in matters
such as employment and education. But now, with sectarian violence
escalating across Iraq over the past year, the death threats have become
more serious.

In sympathy with fleeing families, nearly 2,000 fellow Yezidis
poured into the downtown area in protest to the killings and forced
exodus. Most of the demonstrators demanded KRG protection in the face of
grave threats for their safety.

"We ask the KRG and its president, Massoud Barzani, to assist us in preventing the killings," one protester pleaded in Shangal.

"We ask the central government and the KRG to come to protect
us,” said another protester. “They (the militants) killed four Yezidis
for no reason. Yezidis are human beings, too. Why are they killing
Yezidis?"

The 2003 US-led invasion unleashed a Pandora’s box of ethnic
and religious rivalries, including attacks against the minority Yezidis,
who are considered “devil worshippers” by extremist Muslims. In one
attack in 2007, gunmen massacred 23 Yezidis near Mosul, triggering an
exodus of hundreds of families to the Kurdistan Region, the only
peaceful portion of Iraq.

- See more at: http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/10052014#sthash.S7ueUbCe.dpuf

Yezidis
staged protests in the Kurdish town of Shangal, after four members of
the religious minority were killed by insurgents and hundreds fled their
homes in response to an ultimatum by Islamic extremists who warned
families to leave or be killed.

The protesters in Shangal, which lies in “disputed territories”
claimed by both the Iraqi government and the autonomous Kurdistan
Regional Government in the north, demanded protection from the KRG and
the international community.

Residents said that the militants had raided a home and killed
four people in front of the rest of the family. Last week, two other
Yezidis were gunned down in the Rabia area.

After the latest killings, the militants issued an ultimatum
calling on Yezidi families to leave the area within 24 hours or face
death.

"They told us that if you don't leave by tomorrow, you would be
killed," said Hamid Khalaf, the father of one of the four slain
Yezidis.

Sixty thousand Yezidis are believed to live in Iraq, where 80
percent are concentrated in the towns of Bashika and Shangal. Yezidis
have long faced discrimination in Iraq due to their different religious
beliefs and traditions.

Nearly 4,000 Yezidi families live as farmers around the Rabia region. A Rudaw correspondent reported that some 900 families had fled their homes after the latest death threats.

Yezidis have long claimed discrimination in Iraq in matters
such as employment and education. But now, with sectarian violence
escalating across Iraq over the past year, the death threats have become
more serious.

In sympathy with fleeing families, nearly 2,000 fellow Yezidis
poured into the downtown area in protest to the killings and forced
exodus. Most of the demonstrators demanded KRG protection in the face of
grave threats for their safety.

"We ask the KRG and its president, Massoud Barzani, to assist us in preventing the killings," one protester pleaded in Shangal.

"We ask the central government and the KRG to come to protect
us,” said another protester. “They (the militants) killed four Yezidis
for no reason. Yezidis are human beings, too. Why are they killing
Yezidis?"

The 2003 US-led invasion unleashed a Pandora’s box of ethnic
and religious rivalries, including attacks against the minority Yezidis,
who are considered “devil worshippers” by extremist Muslims. In one
attack in 2007, gunmen massacred 23 Yezidis near Mosul, triggering an
exodus of hundreds of families to the Kurdistan Region, the only
peaceful portion of Iraq.

A woman leaving Rabia with her family told Rudaw that the militants had branded them as "Christians and infidels."

In the meantime, some families from other areas of Nineveh risked their lives by going to assist their relatives in Rabia.

"We are going to bring our families, and we are compelled to
carry guns with us to defend ourselves,” said Sleman Mahmoud, a truck
driver who was on his way to Rabia to pick up frightened relatives. - See more at: http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/10052014#sthash.S7ueUbCe.dpuf

Yezidis
staged protests in the Kurdish town of Shangal, after four members of
the religious minority were killed by insurgents and hundreds fled their
homes in response to an ultimatum by Islamic extremists who warned
families to leave or be killed.

The protesters in Shangal, which lies in “disputed territories”
claimed by both the Iraqi government and the autonomous Kurdistan
Regional Government in the north, demanded protection from the KRG and
the international community.

Residents said that the militants had raided a home and killed
four people in front of the rest of the family. Last week, two other
Yezidis were gunned down in the Rabia area.

After the latest killings, the militants issued an ultimatum
calling on Yezidi families to leave the area within 24 hours or face
death.

"They told us that if you don't leave by tomorrow, you would be
killed," said Hamid Khalaf, the father of one of the four slain
Yezidis.

Sixty thousand Yezidis are believed to live in Iraq, where 80
percent are concentrated in the towns of Bashika and Shangal. Yezidis
have long faced discrimination in Iraq due to their different religious
beliefs and traditions.

Nearly 4,000 Yezidi families live as farmers around the Rabia region. A Rudaw correspondent reported that some 900 families had fled their homes after the latest death threats.

Yezidis have long claimed discrimination in Iraq in matters
such as employment and education. But now, with sectarian violence
escalating across Iraq over the past year, the death threats have become
more serious.

In sympathy with fleeing families, nearly 2,000 fellow Yezidis
poured into the downtown area in protest to the killings and forced
exodus. Most of the demonstrators demanded KRG protection in the face of
grave threats for their safety.

"We ask the KRG and its president, Massoud Barzani, to assist us in preventing the killings," one protester pleaded in Shangal.

"We ask the central government and the KRG to come to protect
us,” said another protester. “They (the militants) killed four Yezidis
for no reason. Yezidis are human beings, too. Why are they killing
Yezidis?"

The 2003 US-led invasion unleashed a Pandora’s box of ethnic
and religious rivalries, including attacks against the minority Yezidis,
who are considered “devil worshippers” by extremist Muslims. In one
attack in 2007, gunmen massacred 23 Yezidis near Mosul, triggering an
exodus of hundreds of families to the Kurdistan Region, the only
peaceful portion of Iraq.

A woman leaving Rabia with her family told Rudaw that the militants had branded them as "Christians and infidels."

In the meantime, some families from other areas of Nineveh risked their lives by going to assist their relatives in Rabia.

"We are going to bring our families, and we are compelled to
carry guns with us to defend ourselves,” said Sleman Mahmoud, a truck
driver who was on his way to Rabia to pick up frightened relatives. - See more at: http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/10052014#sthash.S7ueUbCe.dpuf